Category Archives: Commentary

State of the Race

9/11/2008 – 12:06 pm

The front page of today’s New York Times says George W. Bush in July gave orders for American forces in Pakistan to carry out operations without notifying the Pakistani government. Nearly a year ago, in a Democratic debate, Sen. Barack Obama said that if he is elected president and has a chance to capture or […]

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Off Limits

9/4/2008 – 6:46 am

One of the classiest moments of Bill Clinton’s political career occurred in the middle of the 1992 general election. After weeks of battling “bimbo eruptions,” the press was starting to pick up on rumors about George H. W. Bush’s mistress. In response, Mr. Clinton said, “I didn’t like it when people said it about me […]

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Run for the Border

8/28/2008 – 9:11 am

I live 40 miles from the Canadian border. If I’m given the right incentive, I can walk from my house to Canada. But what’s sufficient incentive? What if a hike to the border could save my life and the lives of my friends and family? That would be sufficient incentive. Let’s raise the stakes. Let’s […]

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General Wheeler’s War

8/14/2008 – 10:45 am

On the morning of June 24, 1898, American forces advanced toward Las Guasimas, Cuba under the command of Brigadier General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler. The aged general was a cavalry commander who’d fought for the Confederates in the Civil War. Heavy fire from Spanish troops halted the advance and battle ensued. Gen. Wheeler called for […]

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The Least We Can Do

7/31/2008 – 12:08 pm

Summers are short in Vermont. You can feel this one beginning to slip away already with the recent chill in the evening air. It seems, however, that from the minute the snow melts until it falls again, someone is running a gas-powered engine within one hundred yards of my house. Power mowers, weed whackers, leaf […]

By floegel | Also posted in Global Warming, Oil, Peak Oil | Tagged | Comments (0)

… And I Can’t Shut Up

7/24/2008 – 9:35 am

Remember those commercials from 20 years ago with senior citizens using their electronic buzzers to summon help? “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” was the tag line. A friend of mine used to parody that commercial at parties. “I’m talking and I can’t shut up,” she’d say. My friend has more self-awareness than many […]

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Get Used To It

7/17/2008 – 2:59 pm

A reader said to me the other day, “You’re stuff’s getting dark lately.” She was right; it has. I don’t know what to do about that, given I define the mission of this site as calling it as I see it. Right now, it looks dark. If it’s any consolation, it’s worse if you live […]

By floegel | Also posted in Civil Liberty, Global Warming | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)